Chapter 1

The capital city of the Song Dynasty, Bianliang, was built during the Five Dynasties period. After the founding of the Song, it was continuously heightened and thickened, making Bianliang increasingly magnificent and grand. It stood by the Yellow River, resembling an ancient giant beast, overlooking the world.

Twenty miles outside Bianliang, in the Qinghe Manor, a tall and robust figure was practicing boxing. With each punch and kick, there was a faint sound of breaking air. Gradually, the figure stopped, deep in thought, contemplating the essence of the boxing techniques.

"Phew."

The figure suddenly opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and revealed a young and spirited face. He had bright eyes and a sword-like brow, a strong and well-built body, and well-maintained, fair skin. His eyes were particularly sharp, exuding a sense of沧桑 (cang桑) that belied his age. His every move and gesture carried an air of imperial nobility. This was Zhao Shu, the fifth son of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty.

"Congratulations, Your Highness. Your boxing skills have greatly improved. You are just one step away from breaking through the Physical Body Realm and entering the True Qi Realm. With your talent, the Physical Body Realm, True Qi Realm, and Innate Realm are all within reach. You may even aspire to the Martial Dao's Vortex Qi Realm and the Yin-Yang Mirror."

An elderly man in brocade clothing stepped forward to congratulate him. Despite the cold winter, the old man wore only a single layer of clothing, with a ruddy complexion and particularly strong and powerful arms, clearly a skilled martial artist.

"Old Long, you are an elder of the family and a True Qi Realm martial artist. There's no need to praise me like others. The True Qi Realm might be attainable, but the Innate Realm is the realm that countless martial artists dream of. The Vortex Qi Realm is even rarer, and the Yin-Yang Mirror is a legendary realm. I fear I will find it difficult to reach."

Zhao Shu waved his hand, smiling, but there was no joy in his heart, only a sense of gravity. He had been in this world for over a year, yet he could only cultivate his martial arts to this level, still far from being a true martial arts expert. The time until the fall of the Northern Song was drawing closer.

"Old Long, how is the Nine Tripod Trading Company this year? How is the defense of the manor?"

Zhao Shu put on a white cloak and turned to ask Long Bo. The trading company was the key to the wealth of Qinghe Manor and the source of his secret strength, so there could be no mistakes.

"Your Highness, the white wine, perfume, and glass produced by our trading company have already gained a reputation throughout the Song Dynasty. This year, they have brought a large amount of wealth to the manor. The northern trading team has also returned, not only opening up the northern trade route but also bringing back a large number of furs. However, the northern people are very strict about horses, and the border is too harsh, so we couldn't buy warhorses. Fortunately, after defeating the Western Xia and seizing the Hehuang region, we managed to purchase sixty warhorses, which were not taken by the Imperial Stables."

"As for the manor, there's no need to worry. Your Highness has waived the rent and hired many young men. Qinghe Manor is the wealthiest manor around Bianliang."

Long Bo spoke with a joyful expression, especially satisfied with this year's harvest and deeply impressed by Your Highness's business acumen.

"Only sixty horses, but it's better than nothing. During the winter, organize the peasants to practice martial arts more often. Don't let them become lazy, especially in horse riding. Put the accounts in my study."

Zhao Shu said this calmly, and Long Bo did not argue, turning to leave. He had come to report on the year's harvest and present the accounts for Your Highness to review.

"Another year has passed! Although this Northern Song is different from the one in my memory, the major events are the same. The Jurchens in the north have already risen, and the Song-Liao alliance seems imminent. I must prepare!"

Zhao Shu looked up at the slowly falling snow, feeling increasingly depressed. His gaze slowly turned to a fire kirin pattern on his arm. When he had come to this world a year ago, this fire kirin pattern had appeared on his arm. This pattern gave him extraordinary martial arts talent, and the most direct effect was that his arm with the kirin pattern was incredibly strong.

"Kirin, you brought me to this strange Northern Song and made me possess the body of a Northern Song prince. But in a few years, the Song will fall apart, and this prince will be tortured to death by the barbarians, and I will have to witness the humiliation and death of my brothers and sisters, and the destruction of the Han dynasty's accumulated wealth. How cruel is this?"

Zhao Shu sighed at the kirin pattern and walked into the study to avoid the growing wind and snow.

Entering the study, he saw Long Bo standing respectfully by the side, with the accounts on the table. However, Zhao Shu did not pick up the accounts but instead took the "Comprehensive Essentials of Martial Arts" from the table. This was a martial arts manual compiled by the court, recording some cultivation essentials.

Reading the "Comprehensive Essentials of Martial Arts," Zhao Shu always felt a sense of dizziness. This Northern Song was very different from the one in his previous memory, and the only difference was that this era actually had legendary martial arts and immortal techniques.

This made him feel incredulous, but he had to believe it because the "Comprehensive Essentials of Martial Arts" was a unique text of the royal family, only given to the imperial family or rewarded to some meritorious officials, and its records had to be believed.

According to the records, the martial arts in this world cultivated the physical body, divided into the Physical Body Realm, True Qi Realm, Innate Realm, Vortex Qi Realm, Yin-Yang Mirror, and Heaven-Man Realm. There seemed to be even higher realms, but they were not recorded in the "Comprehensive Essentials of Martial Arts," and the Yin-Yang Mirror and Heaven-Man Realm were only briefly mentioned, almost like legends.

Immortal techniques, on the other hand, cultivated the soul, with various methods, but they were divided into ten major realms: Calm the Spirit, Leave the Shell, Night Travel, Day Travel, Drive Objects, Manifest Form, Possess Bodies, Seize Souls, Thunder Tribulation, and Yang Spirit.

In the entire Song Dynasty, due to the emphasis on literature over martial arts, most people cultivated the soul. However, the "Comprehensive Essentials of Martial Arts" only described the realms of soul cultivation without detailed cultivation methods.

Especially, the royal family had a rule that, except for the crown prince and princes, other princes were not allowed to cultivate soul techniques, or they would be locked in the Clan Office, never to be released, and these princes were treated like pigs.

Although he was the fifth prince, his mother's status was low, and he was only granted the title of Duke, not even a county prince. He had never met his father, the emperor, in his sixteen years of life.

When he came to this world, Zhao Shu's mother had already passed away, and he lived in the more prosperous Liuliu Manor, which was near the Great State Temple and had been invaded by the monks.

However, Zhao Shu's weak nature made him dare to be angry but not to speak out. In the end, as a prince, he sued the Great State Temple, but the temple's unique status in the Song Dynasty made it impossible for him to reclaim Liuliu Manor, and the temple delayed the matter.

Suing a temple as a prince was a joke, and he lost the case, becoming a laughingstock in Bianliang. In the end, he had to move to his only property, Qinghe Manor, which was poor and mountainous, leading to his deep depression and death, allowing him to come to this world.

This showed how pitiful Zhao Shu's status in the Song Dynasty was. If princes were not allowed to leave Bianliang, he might have been sent to an even more desolate place.

These factors made it impossible for Zhao Shu to come into contact with soul cultivation methods. Even if he did, without a master to guide him, he would likely end up with a shattered soul. Some princes had secretly cultivated soul techniques, hoping to gain the emperor's favor after reaching a certain realm.

However, all of them ended up in tragic situations. Some became mentally deranged, some had their souls shattered and died, some had their cultivation halted and were imprisoned in the Clan Office, and the most tragic were those whose cultivation was abolished and reduced to commoners.

Although soul techniques could extend life, they were extremely slow to cultivate, and he had no time to search for these techniques. The only way was to practice martial arts.

Especially, Zhao Shu could not understand one thing. According to the royal rules, his adoptive father and the crown prince should be experts in immortal techniques, especially his father, who was said to have terrifying cultivation. However, he was captured and imprisoned in Wuguo City by the Jurchens a few years later, suffering great humiliation and dying.

These facts made Zhao Shu hesitant to cultivate soul techniques and instead focus on martial arts to save himself.

After putting down the "Comprehensive Essentials of Martial Arts," he picked up an account book and glanced at it.

Seeing Zhao Shu pick up the accounts, Long Bo smiled and said, "Your Highness, the people from Cileye have a natural talent for accounting. As outsiders, they are very cautious with the accounts, especially with the new accounting method Your Highness invented, which makes the accounts very clear. These people are homeless and grateful to be taken in by Your Highness."

"1,800,000 taels of silver! The trading company is just starting, and this achievement is excellent. It shows that the managers and supervisors have not been lazy. Take some silver as a bonus for the managers and supervisors as a reward for this year. Also, take good care of the people from Cileye and do not neglect them."

Zhao Shu understood the importance of rewarding merit and punishing faults. As a prince, he could not interfere in politics, so the only thing he could do was to accumulate wealth and secretly build up his martial strength, at least to have a chance of self-preservation when the world collapses.

"Your Highness is too generous. The salaries of the managers and supervisors are already very generous. They were originally poor families in the manor, and without Your Highness's care, they might not have survived this winter. Now, with this prosperous business, they are already very grateful to Your Highness."

Long Bo smiled, with no objections to the rewards, and indirectly praised Zhao Shu.

"Old Long, how is the martial preparation in the manor?"

Zhao Shu put down the account book and looked at Long Bo. Hearing this, Long Bo's expression became serious, and he said solemnly, "Your Highness, there are two hundred households in the manor, with 380 young men and 36 cavalry. These are the people of the manor, and you can be assured of their loyalty. The cavalry are all young men as per Your Highness's instructions.

Old Long has also, as per Your Highness's instructions, gathered 820 sturdy and reliable refugees to serve as guards. Their families have been settled in various workshops.

They were originally refugees, and without Your Highness's kindness, they would have starved to death. Now, they have jobs and their families are settled, so they are extremely loyal and dare not disobey. They practice the body cultivation techniques taught by Your Highness day and night.

Half of the young men have been sent to various trading teams to train and travel, which does not attract attention."

"Good. Do not be lenient or slack in training these young men. Has the iron smelting method I taught been effective? How much steel have we produced?"

Zhao Shu was very satisfied with these young men, as they were key to his future resistance against the Jurchen army.

"We have established several blacksmith shops in a hidden location near the intersection of Qinghe and Longding Mountain. Using Your Highness's method, we have forged a lot of high-quality steel. These swords and knives are sharp and durable, several times better than those forged by the Imperial Smelting Bureau, and can be called divine weapons.

Following Your Highness's instructions, I have gathered the forging methods for the crossbow and improved them. Although the crossbow is sharp, it consumes a lot of steel, so it is currently only equipped for the cavalry.

In addition to forging weapons for the guards, we are currently storing steel ingots and forging farming tools, which does not violate Song law. Even the Kaifeng Prefecture cannot say anything, especially since Qinghe Manor is Your Highness's private property, and no one dares to cause trouble."

Zhao Shu nodded, very satisfied.

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